inflate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb exaggerate or make bigger
    blow up; expand; amplify.
    • The charges were inflated
  2. verb fill with gas or air
    blow up.
    • inflate a balloons
  3. verb cause prices to rise by increasing the available currency or credit
    • The war inflated the economy
  4. verb increase the amount or availability of, creating a rise in value
    • inflate the currency
  5. verb become inflated
    balloon; billow.
    • The sails ballooned

WordNet

In*flate" participial adjective
Etymology
L. inflatus, p.p. of inflare to inflate; pref. in- in + flare to blow. See Blow to puff wind.
Definitions
  1. Blown in; inflated. Chaucer.
In*flate" transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Inflated; present participle & verbal noun Inflating
Definitions
  1. To swell or distend with air or gas; to dilate; to expand; to enlarge; as, to inflate a bladder; to inflate the lungs.
    When passion's tumults in the bosom rise, Inflate the features, and enrage the eyes. J. Scott of Amwell.
  2. Fig.: To swell; to puff up; to elate; as, to inflate one with pride or vanity.
    Inflate themselves with some insane delight. Tennyson.
  3. To cause to become unduly expanded or increased; as, to inflate the currency.
In*flate" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To expand; to fill; to distend.

Webster 1913